• Dr Charles CHEN Yidan, Founder, Yidan Prize
• Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, OECD

For the first time, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessed creative thinking. This innovative assessment measures the capacity of students to generate, evaluate, and improve ideas in four different domains (creative writing, visual expression, scientific problem solving, and social problem solving).

In this session, the OECD will present:

• How students in participating countries did on the assessment
• How student and school characteristics are associated with creative thinking performance

Presentation of results:

• Moderator: Lawrence Speer, Senior Media Officer, OECD
• Mathias Cormann, Secretary General, OECD (recorded intervention)
• Andreas Schleicher, Director, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD

In this session, an expert panel will reflect on how the findings of the report can shape education policy and practice in the classroom.
 

Discussion questions:

• What explains the large differences in performance between countries?
• What are the implications of the observed differences by student gender and socio-economic status?
• What are the most important system-level changes that should be introduced to foster the creative potential of all students?
• How should we rethink the focus of standardized assessments?
• What is not working at the classroom level, and what can teachers do differently?

Expert panel:

• Moderator: Mario Piacentini, Senior Analyst, OECD
• Yerrie Kim, Head of Learning through Play, LEGO Foundation
• Todd Lubart, Professor of Psychology, Université de Paris
• Bill Lucas, Chair: Advisory Board, Global Institute of Creative Thinking

Students who are encouraged and supported to come up with their own solutions to problems connect more deeply with the subject, and are more likely to find purpose and satisfaction in their learning process. This session focuses on how to design and implement changes in teaching practices that give a more central role to students’ imagination, critical investigation of problems, and constructing solutions iteratively.
 

Discussion questions:

• Are the disappointing trends in PISA results related to a problem of increasing disengagement of students in the classroom?
• How can teachers facilitate active processes where students learn by exploring the problem from different angles and iterating on their own ideas?
• Are more active and enquiry-based forms of learning hindered by the way we currently assess students — and to what extent?

Short keynotes:

• Michelene (Micki) Chi, 2023 Yidan Prize for Education Research Laureate; Regents' Professor, Arizona State University
• Carl Wieman, 2020 Yidan Prize for Education Research Laureate; Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

Small group discussion:

• Moderator: Natalie Foster, Analyst, OECD
• Michelene (Micki) Chi, Regents' Professor, Arizona State University
• Carl Wieman, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

There is robust evidence on effective teacher learning. Engaging with it is fundamental to the future of teaching and learning. There is also emerging evidence on how teacher education can support and encourage teachers to use research to innovate teaching methods.
 

Discussion questions:

• What does evidence say about teacher professional learning? And about developing their own creativity?
• What types of professional learning help teachers use evidence to develop innovative teaching methods?

Short keynotes:

• Maria Hyler, Director, EdPrepLab, Learning Policy Institute
• Makito Yurita, Professor, National Institute for School Teachers and Staff Development of Japan

Small group discussion:

• Moderator: Cassie Hague, Analyst, OECD
• Maria Hyler, Director, EdPrepLab, Learning Policy Institute
• Makito Yurita, Professor, National Institute for School Teachers and Staff Development of Japan

Research evidence rarely translates into a straightforward plan. This session explores how teachers and school leaders play an active role in critically engaging with research. The panel discusses how schools and systems can support teachers to collectively debate research insights and work to embed evidence in teaching and learning processes.
 

Discussion questions:

• What does evidence-informed professional enquiry look like?
• How can schools and systems support practitioners’ thoughtful engagement with research?

Expert panel:

• Moderator: Lawrence Houldsworth, Analyst, OECD
• Jonathan Kay, Head of Evidence Synthesis and International, Education Endowment Foundation
• Cindy Poortman, Associate Professor, University of Twente
• Mark Rickinson, Associate Professor, Monash University, Australia
• Bénédicte Robert, Regional commissioner of education, Ministère de l'éducation nationale et de la jeunesse

Building education policies on robust data and evidence is fundamental. Different sources of knowledge, political values, and stakeholder interest will form part of any policy decision. Yet certain structures and processes can foster thoughtful engagement with research evidence and ensure that it has a unique place in policymaking.
 

Discussion questions:

• How do policymakers engage with data and evidence to solve complex policy problems?
• What are their challenges?
• What structures and processes can support policy organizations to improve the use of evidence more effectively?

Short keynotes:

• Tracey Burns, Chief Research Officer, National Center of Education and the Economy
• Eric Hanushek, 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Research Laureate; Senior Fellow, Stanford University

Expert panel:

• Moderator: Nóra Révai, Analyst, OECD
• Tracey Burns, Chief Research Officer, National Center of Education and the Economy, US
• Javier González, Director, SUMMA, Education Research and Innovation Laboratory for Latin America and the Caribbean
• Eric Hanushek, Senior Fellow, Stanford University
• Macke Raymond, Program Director, Education, Stanford University
• Rien Rouw, Strategic Advisor, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

For policymakers and practitioners to thoughtfully engage with research evidence, brokers and intermediary organizations play an important role. They support researchers to generate evidence and facilitate its use in policy and practice. This session looks at the growing body of research on what it means to be an effective broker, why it's not yet being put into practice and how education systems can support better use of intermediaries.
 

Discussion questions:

• What is the role of intermediaries in supporting policy and practice to engage with research evidence?
• How can intermediaries and brokers do their work effectively?
• What can education systems do to support the intermediary ecosystem and improve the systematic use of evidence?

Presentation:

• Nóra Révai, Analyst, OECD

Small group discussions in 2 rounds

Expert facilitators:

• Moderator: José Manuel Torres, Research Officer, OECD
• Miquel Àngel Alegre, Project Manager, Fundació Bofill
• Tracey Burns, Chief Research Officer, National Center of Education and the Economy
• Maria Hyler, Director, EdPrepLab, Learning Policy Institute
• Håkon Kavli, Deputy Director, Section for Policy Analysis, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
• Jonathan Kay, Head of Evidence Synthesis, Education Endowment Foundation
• Melissa Mouthaan, Policy Analyst, OECD
• Mark Rickinson, Associate Professor, Monash University, Australia
• Rien Rouw, Strategic Advisor, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
• Jonathan Sharples, Professorial Research Fellow, Education Endowment Foundation
• Annika Wilmers, Researcher, DIPF, Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education

• Closing panel with selected speakers
• Closing remarks: Tia Loukkola, Head of Innovation and Measuring Progress Division, CERI, OECD